Everyone says that corporations are extremely corrupt. But, are the corporations actually corrupt or is it the industries they're in that decides whether or not they'll be corrupt? Think about it, I previously mentioned how you rarely hear about the music industry being considered corrupt. So, who are the corrupt ones?
1. Utilities: "In January 2006, FirstEnergy ponied up $28 million, on top of a previous $5.45 million penalty, to make the criminal charges go away. The cost of the replacement reactor head? $605 million, according to the Toledo Blade." (par. 1)
2. Wall Street/ Securities: "Madoff piloted the most devious Ponzi scheme ever, finding new suckers to give him money as he paid (some) old ones off, eventually defrauding his investors of an estimated $18 billion." (par. 2)
3. Telecommunications: "Officials finally decided WorldCom had been claiming $11 billion it didn't have. WorldCom filed for the then-biggest bankruptcy in the United States, and Ebbers was convicted of securities fraud and conspiracy" (par. 3)
4. Construction: "...three former Fluor employees in Richland, Washington, were indicted last week for fraudulently charging about $560,000 in goods and services. " (par. 4)
5. Media: "...Four major chains, including Clear Channel, paid out $12.5 million in 2007" (par. 5)
Media and Telecommunications, in my opinion, go pretty hand in hand so that just shows how corrupt that area is. Utilities, well, here is another example of corrupt utility companies.
The story of Erin Brockovich is all about a corrupt utility company.
So, does this truly prove that it is the industry that creates corruption? I think it does. Some industries have no reason to be corrupt, and some do. I'm not saying that there aren't some companies who just have bad apples in their work place that create corruption, but I do think there is a correlation between industry and corruption.
"Corruption at the Movies - Galleries." The Daily Beast. Web. 29 Apr. 2011. <http://www.thedailybeast.com/galleries/1564/1/?redirectURL=http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2010-04-28/the-most-corrupt-professions/?cid=hp:beastoriginalsL1>.
Dear Emily,
ReplyDeleteI had never thought about which was more corrupt, the industry or the corporation itself. Now that I’ve read this, it make so much more sense. You don’t hear about Dyson Fans being corrupt because it isn’t a corrupt industry.
When you mentioned that the most corrupt industry was utilities I was shocked. I never really thought about utility companies being bad guys. Wallstreet and telecommunications both made sense to me, however construction and utilities seemed random. I suppose though it’s easy for them to be corrupt because they’re both industries we need no matter what.
I really agree with you that media and telecommunication go hand in hand and that the industries together are very corrupt. You see so many negative things coming from both of them. I’m almost surprised they weren’t number one.
I really enjoyed this blog and look forward to reading more.
Grackle
Dear EmilyyAnn,
ReplyDeleteI had never thought of it being the Industry’s fault. When you put it like that, it leaves speculation open for either one to be to blame. I like how you opened eyes up to a different option that has possibly never been thought of before.
The statements, “are the corporations actually corrupt or is it the industries they're in that decides whether or not they'll be corrupt…I previously mentioned how you rarely hear about the music industry being considered corrupt,” are a different idea on who is the corrupter. Like you said in your previous post, the music industry is not corrupt. In fact, people pirate music all the time. It is the music industry that gets hurt more than the fans do. The fact that the corruptions are usually grouped through industries is a little “funny”.
I agree with you on the statement “some companies who just have bad apples in their work place that create corruption, but I do think there is a correlation between industry and corruption.” There might always be those few companies that have those bad seeds, but there is too much of a coincidence between the industries and corruption for there to be nothing corresponded between the two. This might be something wrong with some corporations, but who is the true person to blame: the company or the industry?
I would have never thought of it as being the industry’s fault. Thank you for opening my eyes to a new option of what to look out for. If you keep bring new ideas to light like this, I will be back.
Gazelle